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Environmentalists: Extreme Bay Area Tides Could Become The Norm

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)- The highest tides of the year sent waves crashing over the Embarcadero in San Francisco Thursday, and environmentalists say that could be a daily occurrence in the future.

The so-called "King Tide" sent seven foot waves crashing over the Embarcadero seawall, and inundating Crissy Field. Jason Flanders ventured onto the storm-tossed bay, aboard the Baykeeper, a 26-foot Tomcat.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

"It was unlike anything I've ever seen," said Flanders. "Some of the swells were definitely above the boat, and we were holding on there for a little while."

Baykeeper toured the bay to measure the impact of these unusually high tides, which Flanders warns, could become the norm, if something isn't done to reverse global warming.

"Sea level rise has already begun, but the forecast is for 16 inches over the next couple of decades," said Flanders. "There are maps that show substantial swaths of the Bay Area being subjected to flooding."

This week's King Tide is caused by stronger than usual gravitational pull from the sun and the moon, but Flanders said that places like Novato, Tiburon and Mill Valley better get used to this kind of coastal flooding.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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